How to Get Rid of Red Mites Outside
Red mites, also called spider mites, are indoor and outdoor pests. If your plants are indoors, there are a variety of easy ways to get rid of these creatures, such as isolating the affected plants, placing them over pans of water, or moving them out of afternoon sunlight. However, since outdoor plants are far less mobile than their indoor counterparts, you have to use other tactics when attacking red mites outdoors. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Mix up a mite-killing solution. Create a 1-to-1 mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. For example, if you use 1 cup water, add 1 cup rubbing alcohol. Put this mixture into the spray bottle. Swirl, rather than shake, to mix. Spray the rubbing alcohol solution on the leaves of the plants that have red mites. The alcohol will dry out the mites and kill them, but it evaporates too quickly to harm the leaves of the plants. You may need to repeat the treatment for several days or even a week to fully evict your little pests.
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Use the tarp to block late afternoon sun and keep the environment around your plants a little more humid. Red mites love hot, dry weather, and especially direct, late afternoon sun. If you can block this sunlight without harming your plants, give this a try.
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Increase humidity around the plants. If you are able to cover your outdoor plants, place some pans of water underneath the cover. This will raise the humidity and drive the red mites away.
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If you have red mites on your trees, you can simply power them off with a garden hose and sprayer. This only will work on branches, though, and can harm your foliage, so be careful and only try this method on trees without dense leaf cover.
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Tips & Warnings
You can use miticides to get rid of red mites, but they should be avoided if you are raising edible crops.
